Summer days are for entertaining guests alfresco, and what better way to do it than with an outdoor kitchen
The rise of the outdoor kitchen
Outdoor kitchens became part of modern home design by stealth. First, there was the humble barbecue, then came the fire pit to cosy up cool evenings, then the outdoor gourmet pizza oven and even a miniature drinks fridge. Before we knew it preparing food, cooking it and eating it outside was a full-blown phenomenon and now no fashionable house is complete without a fully functioning outdoor kitchen.
Summer is naturally the optimum time to enjoy the exterior eating experience, whether it’s a secluded patio, on a covered deck, or in a lush green garden by the pool. Here are some of our favourite ways to blur the line between kitchen and garden.
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Location is key when it comes to your outdoor entertaining area.
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Sitting around a fire pit is great for creating nostalgic campsite conviviality.
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Mediterranean-style wood-fired pizza ovens can be used for much more than just gourmet pizzas – vegetables, meat and fish can all be cooked to smoky, caramelised perfection.
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Turn your kitchen island into a bar with high stools that your friends can sit on while you pour the drinks.
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Tiles are a gorgeous ornate flooring option indoors and marble is right on trend, but both are slippery when wet and make a dangerous foundation for your outdoor area.
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Natural tones and materials are a snowballing trend in interior design. Replicate the colours and textures of your outdoor area with exposed brick, craggy schist, natural wood and concrete.
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Minimise trips back to the house and eliminate the need for ice buckets altogether with an outdoor wine chiller.
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Lighting is critical in your outdoor kitchen area once the sun goes down. Opt for low-voltage halogen uplights that can be nestled into nearby foliage or use outdoor lanterns as design features to supplement the natural firelight.
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The days when a solo dome barbecue was all you needed in the backyard are well and truly behind us. Nowadays if your barbecue doesn’t have half a dozen burners with variable temperature control, side burners for boiling water, a warming rack, rotisserie, and an infrared searing grill to give your sirloin a restaurant-quality char, you’re living in the past.
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Play it safe with a pergola, an open-air patio structure that will not only keep the rain away, but protect your appliances, countertops, and skin from the UV rays on sunnier days too.
Words by: Diana Clarke
Photos by: Armelle Habib, Sharyn Cairns, Brooke Holm, Maree Homer, Simon Griffiths, Scott Hawkins, Prue Ruscoe/Bauersyndication.com.au
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